From its opening moments, The Grand Tour is practically boasting to viewers how much bigger, better, and expensive it’s going to be than good ole Top Gear. The series opens on gloomy London. Clarkson leaves a sky-rise and enters the pouring rain. He retreats to a garage, gets in a gorgeous blue sports car* and suddenly, as if a wish came true, he’s driving out of LAX and into the California desert. On the way, he’s suddenly flanked by pals Hammond and May. Soon the trio is part of a massive caravan that leads them to Burning Man. There, they are welcomed by a concert. Clarkson introduces us to a sizzle reel of the fantastic locations The Grand Tour will cover this season and welcomes us to their portable tent studio. Oh, and everything is shot in hyper clear 4K High Definition.

Like I said: The Grand Tour is really going for it.

If you’re familiar with Top Gear, you know the drill. The show is a deep dive into the most extraordinary cars in the world and an ode to our fascination with speed. While there have been many iterations of Top Gear over the years — both in the UK and here in the US — the show’s most popular team is Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Together they are coarse, cantankerous, and, well, really fun to watch. Clarkson, in particular, is always getting into hot water over his politically incorrect humor and explosive attitude. Clarkson’s off the cuff comments provoked multiple controversies over the years and, after a number of incidents, the BBC called for his dismissal. His co-hosts joined him, thus marking an exodus from the program. Amazon pounced upon the trio (and their favorite producer) in an astronomically expensive deal. The result? The Grand Tour.

The Grand Tour doesn’t seem to be deviating too far from the classic Top Gear formula. There’s going to be lots of arguing about which car is the best, numerous time trials on roadways, and glorious adventures in offbeat vehicles in exotic locales. The big difference: money. I cannot stress this enough, but this show is dripping in dollar signs. From the exorbitantly priced cars to the sumptuously sun-soaked locations, this is a show that is proud to be disgustingly expensive. Ironically, this is The Grand Tour‘s greatest charm. It is so unapologetically escapist that you kind of have to let it wash over you. It plays into our deepest fantasies about wealth and privilege and offers up numerous fantasy vacations in the space of one episode. The easy chemistry and coarse schoolboy humor of the presenters only adds to the decadence.

So will you like The Grand Tour? If you loved Top Gear, then I would give an emphatic yes. If you’re unfamiliar with Top Gear then some of the inside jokes up top might go over your head, but you’re liable to still be taken in by The Grand Tour‘s aggressive charm attack. Between the gear head banter and intoxicating visuals, The Grand Tour makes for a sweet escape from the real world we all live in.

The Grand Tour launched exclusively on Amazon Video today. New episodes of the series will be available weekly. Coincidentally, Amazon is offering a one day deal in honor of the show’s launch that slashed a year-long Prime membership from $99 to $79.